Back in September George was invited by one of our key suppliers, Loughran Brewers Select, to join them and fellow brewers at Cloudwater Brewing Co (Manchester) on a trip out to the Indie Hops & Crosby Hops farms, in Oregon, USA. Together they flew out for the beginning of this years hop harvest, to tour the farms, learn about everything that Indie & Crosby Hops have to offer respectively, and to have the first pick of the freshest hop varieties to bring home to brew with in 2026. This is George’s account of his trip, interviewed by Digby at Loughran… enjoy!
George's Hop Selection Interview with Digby from Brewers Select.
Thoughts before heading to Oregon?
Without sounding too gushy… Simply being invited on this trip was for me, the pinnacle of my brewing career. I remember when I started brewing professionally a decade ago, the idea of simply being invited for hop selection seemed like something only offered to the big established brewers. So when I was asked by Loughran to go to Oregon for hop selection, alongside Cloudwater, of course the answer couldn't be anything but yes.
The invite felt like an affirmation to all of us at Bluntrock and the beers we produce, one that I believe wouldn't have been possible without the vast improvement in the quality of raw ingredients, particularly hops, that are now available to UK brewers in no small part, is thanks to Loughran Brewers Select.
I remember almost falling out of love with brewing when first trying and failing to chase the big, clean hop flavours my favorite brewers were able to get from their beers. Using the hops that were available to small UK breweries at the time, it was a near impossible task which made me question my ability as a brewer to make modern beer styles. However, in recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the availability of quality hops, with the emergence of smaller, independent hop producers previously impossible to source in the UK. Not only has this emergence offered UK brewers the ability to brew with new world class hop varieties, such as Strata & Luminosa, it has also given the bigger players in the hop market such a tremendous kick up the arse for the quality of their hops, that the overall quality of imported US hops is on a steep increase.
Any inspiration for new ideas or trends?
The sheer amount of fresh hop beers was really amazing to see. Being from Cornwall, getting hold of fresh hops in a quantity to actually brew with is near impossible. With there being such an abundance of fresh hop beers, I began to properly understand the taste of fresh hops in beer and how they present across styles, from Hazy IPA's to Pilsners.
The amount of hop forward lagers was really interesting. Having recently brewed a single hop West Coast Pilsner (A style I was a little skeptical about) in collaboration with Loughran, Crosby and an assortment of independent Cornish breweries, the style was fresh in my mind, so it was refreshing to see so many other hop forward lager styles out there.
The collaboration and the trip also really opened my eyes to the opportunities of presenting hops in non hazy beers. In the UK I'm starting to feel a bit of haze fatigue… Whilst I still love to drink hazy beers, the seemingly never ending releases of “brand new ≈6% hazy IPA”was starting to take the excitement out of hop forward beers. In and around Portland they use hops as the forefront of the beer across a much wider spectrum of beer styles. Something I think the UK could really learn from.
Any surprises, or big discoveries?
Big surprises were abundant, having never been to the US before. When people say “everything is bigger in the US”, they're right. The main thing that surprised me was the amount of space brewers have at their disposal gives them the opportunity to be incredibly creative with their taprooms.
From the sheer amount of lines pouring (all of which are tasting great), to the inclusion of arcade areas, kitchens and other non beer attractions, all of which require a lot of space, which is very hard and expensive to come by in the UK.
Favourite beers of the trip?
My favourite beers of the trip are neck and neck. It's a toss up between Stormbreaker Brewing's Fresh Hop Strata or Von Ebert's Clubhaus American Light Lager. Two extremely contrasting beers, both of which I haven't seen UK brewers trying to produce, partly due to the lack of availability of fresh hops…
As well as being one of my favorite beers, Fresh Hop Strata was also the first beer I had when I arrived. Being 2 doors down from Stormbreaker, as soon as I arrived at the AirBnB it was too convenient not to go straight out for a beer.
I thought maybe it was the excitement of; arriving in Portland for the crowning trip of my brewing career, heading straight to the brewery next door and choosing the freshest fresh hop beer on tap, then having my first sip of US beer sat on a wooden bench under hanging hop vines and barrels of fresh hops dotted around the beer garden. But after returning 3 more times throughout the week to drink that same beer, I realised that it wasn't just the over excitement at the moment. It was genuinely one of the best examples of both Hazy IPA's and fresh hop beers I've had.
Whilst Von Ebert's American Light Lager doesn't sound quite as exciting, it was a great grounding beer for me. It is a great example of a clean, crisp and unassuming lager, only brewed by a small, independent brewery, not a macro behemoth. It gave me a break from the abundance of hop heavy beers when I really needed it!
Anything you’d like to take back to the brewery? A style, or beer to emulate etc?
Most of the beer we drank out there was hop forward, but unlike the UK, the variety of styles showcasing hops was extremely broad. On the Sunday of my flight home I was drinking a fresh hop US Tettnang Saison which is something I can't say I've experienced before.
It seems that US brewers are more willing to use hops in an interesting and a less predictable way than UK brewers. Maybe due to the abundance of hops in the Pacific North West, or simply the desire for a wider range of beer styles available. But for me, the thing I'd most like to take back to Bluntrock is the willingness to explore a greater range of beer styles in a modern, hop forward way.
Any advice for brewers when selecting hops? What should they look for?
It was my first time selecting hops, so I followed the advice from Jim of Indie Hops and the other guys. Generally, hop selection is easier when you already know what to look for in each hop. However in this case I was fairly new to the hop we were selecting; Strata. So I just went with my gut and looked for the characteristics I find most appealing which with Strata, was very easy.
What’s something new you learned about the hop industry on this trip?
I'd never been to a hop farm prior to the trip, so my first experience was at Coleman Farm. So from harvest, pick, kiln and bale, everything was new to me.
Any insights into Crosby Hops – anything you learned or that stood out?
Crosby Hops is a seriously impressive facility. It's brand new with what is possibly the best pellet mill in the industry. A huge amount of investment has obviously gone into Crosby which really shows when you visit.
It was especially special seeing the facility after our Big Friendly Comet brew day, which Nolan from Crosby came along to and did a short hop rub and talk.
Any insights into Indie Hops – anything you learned or that stood out? (includes how much Jim loves Baerlic!)
I think everyone after a certain amount of time in the industry loses some of the passion they had when they started. For me, I can't remember the last time I went out and tried over 12 different beers (not all pints) and talked exclusively about the beers I was drinking and the brewers who made them.
Day drinking with Jim from Indie Hops has reignited my love for beer and the industry. His passion for what he does and the industry is contagious. So contagious that every time we met up with him, we ended up on a bar crawl talking about nothing but beer.
Jim and the team at Indie Hops are behind some of the most exciting new hops in the industry; Strata, Luminosa, Audacia, Meridian to name a few… Because Indie Hops is such a small team, they have an intimate knowledge of the development of new hop varieties from the first vines all the way to the brewing and feedback. You can be sure that if it's a new hop variety from Indie, you're going to want to get some.
Extra extra bonus points for any advice you can offer brewers on hop contracting, and how the hop contracting process helps you folks make awesome beer?!
Hop contracting has helped us lock in a great variety of quality hops from both Crosby and Indie at a great price. We generally contract enough for two or three brews of each variety that we know will be great in one off specials. This gives us a wide selection of guaranteed availability and takes away the unpredictability of buying on spot.
THE END
Teaser for the next Journal - George kept a diary of his days throughout the whole trip to Oregon, which is quite an entertaining read. It just needs a smidge of refining then we’ll be adding it to the blog for you to soak up!
Thank you for reaching the end of the first Bluntrock blog post, going forwards we'll be using this platform to journal more of our beer-scapades here at Bluntrock, so stay tuned in.